Make it back.

When you enter the main room of Niki's family home, you notice a strange new addition. There are bedrolls set up and the dining room table has been pushed aside. The boys are still here, and you get the idea. They must have chosen to stay here, either to protect he family, or so they don't have to pay for rooms at an inn. Either way, it does make you feel safer.

"What's going on?" Niki asks.

"A sleepover," Hedi replies. "How was your date?"

"It was nice. I'm going to my room for a bit to rest," she says, and then makes her way up the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

"Wow. She didn't say anything about--"

Suddenly, she turns and leans on the railing from above. "It wasn't a date!" Then she quickly disappears.

Thomas kicks one of the bedrolls with his toes. "We got you one too, Kyle. It isn't going to be the most comfortable sleep, but I reckon you've adventured enough to deal with it."

"I guess so," you reply.

When Niki returns, she's dressed down. All of her pieces of armour are gone, so she's dressed in nothing but brown fabric tightly wrapped around her breasts like a tube top, and a pair of matching short shorts. She steps down the stairs in her bare feet, and at the bottom, she sits two stairs up and leans on the railing beside her. You try not to ogle her body. Though even when she wears her armour, it isn't like there's a ton more covered. Her chest, however, is much more visible now. A few times you've seen the fabric torn off in some way. Even though you were trying, you catch yourself looking a moment too late.

Hedi slaps you on the shoulder. "Do you find my sister attractive, Kyle?"

"Oh, uh."

Bek speaks up. "She's a lovely lass. Tough too. What's not to find attractive, right?"

"I actually find her kind of intimidating," Tom whispers.

"What are you guys whispering about over there?" Niki asks. She stands and takes a few steps forwards as she brushes her hands back through her neck-length hair. The way she's standing--you can't help but imagine a super model, though one that's willing to fight a dragon. You wonder what she would look like with longer hair as well.

"Oh nothing, sister," Hedi says. "Let's eat, have some more tea, and then get to bed. Though I don't know if I'll be able to sleep much the next few days."

"How long is the Golden Sword anyway?" you ask.

"It depends on how many enter. Usually the tournament itself is done completely in one day. Every fight, like a gauntlet, including the last. Though I have heard of it going an extra day before, they prefer to conclude it in one. There's something more exciting to people about seeing the fighters get worn down. There's also strategy in pacing yourself."

Niki slips her fingers together and stretches he arms high above her head. As she does a little bounce, so do her massive melons barely contained in that tight band of fabric. It's not something you usually see behind her breastplate. "It's more fun too. If you can't last, then what's the point?"

Thomas snickers. "That's right..."

Bek smacks him on the side. "What's the matter, lad? Have that problem before?"

The evening comes and you fill you stomach with simple but warm food and drinks. Niki heads to her own room upstairs, and her parents to theirs. Unfortunately, Hedi had been using her room all this time, so he's **** to join the rest of you among the bedrolls in the main room. You, him, Bek, and Thomas slip into the uncomfortable sleeping bags and try your best to get some shut-eye.

We need to find our enemies before the tournament is over and Niki is kicked out again. If not, we'll have to figure out how to relocate her family. This is frustrating. usually our enemy is more obvious. I guess all I can hope for is the tournament itself giving us a hand.

Eventually, you do fall asleep. The first day in the Oraang Desert comes to a close.